Two SouthCoast men hospitalized after robbery, chase and crash

Two SouthCoast men were taken to a Boston hospital in MedFlight helicopters after police allege they broke into a house in Bourne and led the homeowner on a chase that ended in a crash at the Bourne Rotary.

BOURNE — Two SouthCoast men were taken to a Boston hospital in MedFlight helicopters Tuesday after police allege they broke into a Club House Drive house and led the homeowner on a chase that ended in a rollover crash at the Bourne Rotary.

Kristopher Santillo, 25, of Dartmouth, and Sage Vandersluis, 35, of New Bedford, were both unresponsive but partially conscious after a vehicle driven by Santillo went out of control at the rotary, striking a curb and rolling several times in the grass at about 11:30 a.m., Bourne police said. The two were found trapped inside the car and were later placed in MedFlight helicopters that landed at the state police barracks at the opposite side of the rotary.

"It was a good 70 or 80 feet that the car didn't touch the ground," said Sgt. John Stowe, who estimated that Santillo drove into the rotary at 100 mph. "And then, once it hit the ground, it rolled several times."

The incident began with a call from a Club House Drive resident who said he had just seen a car speed away from his property. Believing that the two men may have robbed his residence, the man followed the car north on Route 28 and gave police the registration number, a Bourne police statement said.

When they responded to Route 28, police saw the silver Hyundai sedan heading fast in the breakdown lane toward the rotary, where it went out of control and rolled over, trapping Santillo and Vandersluis inside, according to the statement. The two police cars were heading in the opposite direction on Route 28, with one trying to turn around and the other bound for Club House Drive, Stowe said.

The crash left large divots in the rotary grass, littering it with smashed windshield glass, a rear-view mirror and various other car parts.

Inside the car, police found several items that were later determined to have been stolen from the Club House Drive house, including a flat-screen television, gaming consoles, video games, money and jewelry, police said.

Stowe estimated the combined value of the stolen items to be between $1,500 and $2,000. He said exact charges against the two men will be announced.